Pipe joint



Patented Nov. 15, 1949 2., 8, 4=6 r rn JOINT Cha es Whi ake d Will m Eunson, Bittsburgh, Pa assignors to Westinghouse El sic oorna t emer e-1.1 of! on, East Bittsburgh, Pa., a .,,ni1sylven a Application May. 10, 194 6, Serial No. 668,981

5 Claims 1..

Our i ntipn r ateseen rallh to lqeomqt t s r t res. and mo part u a ly. t9. air s ee y ms o el ct ic l comot ve n r e t i eas h ho se pwer et na he a n motors 9 str p l com tive may b en at by a r del vered b m to driv n. lowr oc e n. he tab oi he lqq m iiven. th p a du t r the a r: t m a b ower een ri d y m u n the unde Par 9f.- he ir t s f qm h s e were onnec e w th r n m t rs by m an 9iilex h e he ices- Iow ve "-,v th 5 a li 9. he amoun OI t b l v a an e btain d it s h a ims-tur h limit wa x ee ed, 1 mqtiv s 9 f w t pes n which the. iv ee' e n motors and the air duct was beyond the r of bellows which could be installed in the availb Space qq d e r. a m tal lidin 9r elescopic device was utilized, in place of a bellows. This device a nl na ia ly s v ess a i leaked a large amount of air. Euifthermore, it

usually s bent when'chai ei e r' it leaked still more'air.

An object'of our invention, generally stated, is to provide a flexible air duct which shall be simple and efilcient in operation andwhich may be economically manufactured and installed.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a flexible, air duct which shall permit a relatively large amount of movement between fixed and movable members connected by the duct.

Another objectv of our. invention is to provide a flexible air duct which may-be installed a restricted space.

A further object of our invention is to control the movement of a movable member of a flexible air duct.

Other objects of our invention will be explained fully hereinafter or will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, a floating section of duct is so connected between fixed and movable sections by flexible bellows that a relatively large amount of movement is permitted between the fixed and movable sections With a relativel small deflection of the bellows.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of our invention, reference may be had to I the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a View, in plan, of a portion of an electric locomotive embodying the principal features of our invention; and

Fig. 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the locomotive structure shown in Fig. 1, a portion being broken away for clearness.

Referring to the drawing, the portion of the weight of the floatin member.

locomotive structure shown therein comprises a ta i whic is u p r o a ma n hi a H; by a center pin ii, a guiding true]; 13 a pinrality of axles It having driving wheels i5 secured thereto, and motors it of the twin type for drivin the axles l4. Only substantially halt. or 'tnecab and one main truck frame are. shown the drawing, the other main truck'frarr'ie and othe of the cab being similar to the parts il llsitr As shown, a blower ll, which is driven'bva motor i8, is mounted in the cab. ill tor. supplying a'into the motors iiiv through" Ventilating ducts 2!, 22 and 23. The duct 2'lis corinectedt "the motor for the first axle, the duct 2,; is cloj "f tothe motor for the second axle aiid'the' 'diict 2,3 is connected to the motor for'th third As shown, portions of the duct. 2:2 are glisflo ed on opposite sides of the duct'Zl boo J E limitations. The two portions. are jo""ed"i to single pipe before entering therri'otqrfor the'sjecand axle.

shown by the broken lines Fig. 1, the motor for the third axle, hich, is tne'r rt t frorn'the center pin l2, swings laterally afrelal ive'ly great distance when the'loccf otiv is g rig around curves. Therefore, it is ne v videa large amount of flexibilit n the db According to our invention,this is accomplis by providing a float ng duct membergl whic d spos b we h fixe member 13 a swinging member which is conne ed t -the motor housing and'swin'gs laterally with the tor. One end of the floating member 24' is'c nnected to he fix d member by bellows 25 and the other end is connected to'tlfie swinging member 25 by a similar bellows 21. In this manner, the deflection of the bellows is relatively small, even for maximum swing, and is well within the limits of expansion and compression for a bellows of the accordion type. The bellows are preferably molded from rubber or a similar material.

The movement of the floating member 24 may be controlled by a bar 28, one end of which is secured to the member 24 and the other end of which is slidabl disposed in a block 29 secured to the swinging member 25. As the motor swings relative to the cab, the bridging bar 28 causes the floating member 24 to move with the swinging member 25, thereby removing the mechanical strain of dragging the floating duct from the bellows.

In the present locomotive, a cross member 3i of the truck frame may be utilized to support the When no cross member is available, a suitable support may be provided, or, by making the floating member of a light material, such as aluminum, the weight can be carried by the bellows.

floating member 32, similar to the member 24,

3 but shorter in iength, may be provided for the duct 22. The member 32 may be connected to the fixed and swinging members in the manner hereinbefore described. Since the motor for the first axle is located closely to the center pin l2, one flexible bellows 33 is sufiicient for the short swing of this motor. A blower and ducts, similar to those described, may be provided for the motors on the other main truck.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that we have provided a ventilating duct system for an electric locomotive which is simple in construction, has a large amount of flexibility, and may be installed in a restricted space. Furthermore, leakage of air from the duct system is prevented.

Since numerous changes may be made in the above-described construction and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. A ventilating duct comprising a fixed member, a swinging member spaced from the fixed member, a floating member disposed between the fixed member and the swinging member, accordion bellows for connecting the floating memher to said fixed member and said swinging member, and a bar having one end secured to the floating member and the other end slidably connected to the swinging member to control the movement of the floating member.

2. A ventilating duct comprising a fixed member, a swinging member spaced from the fixed member, a floating member disposed between the fixed member and the swinging member, flexible means for connecting one end of the floating member to the fixed member and the other end to the swinging member, a bar bridging the flexible means between the floating member and the swinging member, and a block secured to one of said members and having an opening therethrough, one end of said bar being slidably disposed in said opening and the other end being secured to the other of said members to control the movement of the floating member.

3. A ventilating duct comprising a fixed member, a swinging member spaced from the fixed member, a floating member disposed between the fixed member and the swinging member, accordion bellows for connecting one end of the floating member to the fixed member and the other end to the swinging member, a bar having one end secured to the floating member, and a block secured to the swinging member and having an opening therein for receiving the other end of the bar to control the movement of the floating member.

4. A ventilating duct comprising a fixed member, a swinging member spaced from the fixed member, a floating member disposed between the fixed member and the swinging member, flexible means for connecting one end of the floating member to the fixed member and the other end to the swinging member, slotted means on the swinging member, and a bar having one end disposed in said slotted means and the other end secured to the floating member for controlling the movement of the floating member.

5. A ventilating duct comprising a fixed member, a swinging member spaced from the fixed member, a floating member disposed between the fixed member and the swinging member, accordion bellows for connecting one end of the floating member to the fixed member and the other end to the swinging member, bar means bridging the bellows between the floating member and the swinging member for controlling the movement of the floating member, one end of said bar being secured to one of said members, and slotted means secured to the other member for receiving the other end of said bar.

CHARLES C. WHITTAKER. WILLIAM H. EUNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 283,839 Wells Aug. 28, 1883 2,014,355 Hussman Sept. 10, 1935 2,337,038 Fentress Dec. 21, 1943 

